IOT sensor

ABSTRACT

An Internet of Thing (IoT) device includes a head portion; an elongated stress sensor coupled to the head portion, the stress sensor coupled to a surface; a processor coupled to the stress sensor; and a wireless transceiver coupled to the processor.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to the Internet of Things ((IoT)).

SUMMARY

In one aspect, an Internet of Thing ((IoT)) device includes a headportion; an elongated stress sensor coupled to the head portion, thestress sensor coupled to a surface; a processor coupled to the stresssensor; and a wireless transceiver coupled to the processor.

Implementations may include one or more of the following. The system forsmart bolts and probes is an electronic sensor for use with a smart boltor probe having a sensor for detecting stress or tension. The smart lidincludes a color sensor that provides electrical data corresponding tolight received from the color indicator of the smart bolt or probe, amicrocontroller that receives electrical data from the color sensor andconverts that data to a digital form and compares the electrical dataagainst at least one limit, and provides a digital indication wirelesslythrough an antenna to a remote monitor if the at least one limit hasbeen exceeded. In this fashion a warning or emergency condition can beindicated when the tension experienced by the smart bolt is too low, orin some embodiments, too low or too high. The smart lid may include anelectrical power source that scavenges electrical power from ambientelectromagnetic fields (EMF) and stores the electrical power in abattery. Alternatively, the smart lid may be powered by a previouslycharged battery. The smart lid uses a housing that is removably coupledto the smart bolt with a flexible, resilient retainer.

These and other features of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an side view of a smart bolt and probe according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an electronic circuit for a smart bolt andprobe according to the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a big data system for predicting stressexperienced by a structural unit such as a bridge, a building, or aplane, for example.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating one operation of the system of FIG.2A-2B in detecting stress on a unit.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary mesh network.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary process to identify reasons for sensor datachanges using a gaming process.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may include communication functionality. For example,an electronic device may be a smart phone, a tablet Personal Computer(PC), a mobile phone, a video phone, an e-book reader, a desktop PC, alaptop PC, a netbook PC, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a PortableMultimedia Player (PMP), an MP3 player, a mobile medical device, acamera, a wearable device (e.g., a Head-Mounted Device (HMD), electronicclothes, electronic braces, an electronic necklace, an electronicaccessory, an electronic tattoo, or a smart watch), and/or the like.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may be a smart home appliance with communicationfunctionality. A smart home appliance may be, for example, a television,a Digital Video Disk (DVD) player, an audio, a refrigerator, an airconditioner, a vacuum cleaner, an oven, a microwave oven, a washer, adryer, an air purifier, a set-top box, a TV box (e.g., SamsungHomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™), a gaming console, an electronicdictionary, an electronic key, a camcorder, an electronic picture frame,and/or the like.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may be a medical device (e.g., Magnetic ResonanceAngiography (MRA) device, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) device,Computed Tomography (CT) device, an imaging device, or an ultrasonicdevice), a navigation device, a Global Positioning System (GPS)receiver, an Event Data Recorder (EDR), a Flight Data Recorder (FDR), anautomotive infotainment device, a naval electronic device (e.g., navalnavigation device, gyroscope, or compass), an avionic electronic device,a security device, an industrial or consumer robot, and/or the like.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may be furniture, part of a building/structure, anelectronic board, electronic signature receiving device, a projector,various measuring devices (e.g., water, electricity, gas orelectro-magnetic wave measuring devices), and/or the like that includecommunication functionality.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may be any combination of the foregoing devices. Inaddition, it will be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the artthat an electronic device according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure is not limited to the foregoing devices.

In one embodiment, a smart bolt includes sensor(s) and wirelesscommunication therein. The bolt can detect tension and communicate to acomputer for storage and analysis. The smart bolt provides an automaticelectronic process that eliminates the need for a manual inspectionprocess, and uses electronic detection of stress, eliminating subjectivehuman judgments and producing greater uniformity in maintenance,inspection, and emergency detection procedures.

FIG. 1 shows a smart bolt 100 with a head portion 104 and a threadedportion 110 positioned through an aperture of a washer 120. A stresssensor 112 is positioned in a core of the threaded portion 110. In oneimplementation, another stress sensor 114 is positioned adjacent thewasher 120. Data generated by the sensors 112-114 is processed byelectronics 102 in a recessed chamber. In one embodiment, a camera canbe included with the electronics 102.

The unit 112 can include a camera, which can be a 360 degree camera.Alternatively, the camera can be a 3D camera such as the Kinect cameraor the Intel RealSense camera for ease of generating 3D models and fordetecting distance of objects. To reduce image processing load, eachcamera has a high performance GPU to perform local processing, and theprocessed images, sound, and odor data are uploaded to a cloud storagefor subsequent analysis.

The unit 112 may include an electronic nose to detect odor. Theelectronic nose can simply be a MEMS device acting as a particlecounter. An embodiment of the electronic nose can be used that includesa fan module, a gas molecule sensor module, a control unit and an outputunit. The fan module is used to pump air actively to the gas moleculesensor module. The gas molecule sensor module detects the air pumpedinto by the fan module. The gas molecule sensor module at least includesa gas molecule sensor which is covered with a compound. The compound isused to combine preset gas molecules. The control unit controls the fanmodule to suck air into the electronic nose device. Then the fan moduletransmits an air current to the gas molecule sensor module to generate adetected data. The output unit calculates the detected data to generatea calculation result and outputs an indicating signal to an operator orcompatible host computer according to the calculation result.

An electronic tongue sensor can be provided to sense quality of rain orliquid on the bolt. The tongue includes a liquid molecule sensor module,a control unit and an output unit. Rain or other liquid is received onto the liquid molecule sensor module. The molecule sensor module detectsthe liquid molecules pumped into by the stirring module. The liquidmolecule sensor module at least includes a molecule sensor which iscovered with a compound. The compound is used to combine preset liquidmolecules. The control unit controls the stirring module to pump liquidto be “tasted” into the electronic tongue device. Then the moduletransmits a flow current to the liquid molecule sensor module togenerate a detected data. The output unit calculates the detected datato generate a calculation result and outputs an indicating signal to anoperator or compatible host computer according to the calculationresult. Such electronic tongue can detect quality of fog or liquid,among others.

In one embodiment for analyzing a mechanical structure such as abuilding or bridge, the unit 112 includes a probe 20 which may beattached to a variety of sport probes, and instruments to affordadaptability to a variety of situations in providing diagnosticinformation on an object such as a naturally occurring structure,man-made materials placed or found within the structure, diseased orotherwise affected, infected or effected structure, as well as structurethat has been eroded, worn by attrition, abraded, abfracted, fractured,crazed, broken or otherwise compromised through sport enthusiast use,misuse, fatigue or longevity of use. The probe 20 generates electricaloutputs which are interpreted by a smart phone or computer.

In one embodiment, the probe 20 can be a vibratory transducer that sendsout vibrations at known frequency and amplitude. The probe 20 alsoincludes a receiver which can be an accelerometer, for example. Theaccelerometer is attached to the teeth and connected to a computer. Theaccelerometer digitizes the received vibrations and provides them intothe phone or computer. The transducer can be a single piezoelectrictransducer or an array with elements arranged to fit in a bolt cavity.The transducer elements can be mounted in silicone rubber or othermaterial suitable for damping mechanical coupling between the elements.Other materials may also be used for the array construction. Forexample, the transducer may be formed from one or more pieces ofpiezocomposite material, or any material that converts electrical energyto acoustic energy. The receiver can also be positioned to fit in themouthpiece or appliance. One embodiment of the receiver is anaccelerometer, but a suitable piezoelectric transducer can serve as thereceiver as well.

As shown in FIG. 2A, a microcontroller 155 receives and processessignals from the sensor 112-114, and converts those signals into anappropriate digital electronic format. The microcontroller 155wirelessly transmits tension information in the appropriate digitalelectronic format, which may be encoded or encrypted for securecommunications, corresponding to the sensed stress indication through awireless communication module or transceiver 160 and antenna 170.Optionally, a camera 140 can be provided to visually detect stress andmovement of the structure. While monitoring of the smart bolt 100 stressis continuous, transmission of tension information can be continuous,periodic or event-driven, such as when the tension enters into a warningor emergency level. Typically the indicated tension enters a warninglevel, then an emergency level as tension drops below the optimal range,but corresponding warning and emergency levels above the optimal rangecan also be used if supported by the smart bolt 100. The microcontroller155 is programmed with the appropriate warning and emergency levels, aswell as internal damage diagnostics and self-recovery features.

The tension information can take any form, including a simplewarning/emergency indication that the tension is approaching orexceeding tension specifications, respectively. While under-tension isknown to be the primary cause of structural or mechanical problemsassociated with bolts, over-tension can also be a problem and can alsobe reported by the smart bolt 100.

The sensors can detect force, load, tension and compression forces onthe device such as the bolt. Other data includes Acceleration; Velocity;Global absolute displacement; Local relative displacement; Rotation;Strain; Stress; Force; and Static-position video. Wind speed/direction;External temperature; weather parameters (rainfall, humidity, solarradiation, etc.); Internal or structural temperature; Mass loading(occupant count, etc.); Static tilt; Fatigue damage; Corrosion; Acousticemission; and Moving-position video. A force is simply a push or pull toan object and can be detected by a load cell, pressure cell or strainsensor. A Load: Is simply a force applied to a structure. Ex: weight ofvehicles or pedestrians, weight of wind pushing on sides. Tension &Compression are internal forces that make a member longer or shorter.Tension stretches a member and Compression pushes the member closertogether. Acceleration can also be detected by Force-Balance (Servo)Piezoelectric Piezoresistive MEMS. Velocity can be measured byforce-balance (servo) MEMS, or Mechanical Doppler Heated wire. A localDisplacement sensor can be LVDT/Cable potentiometer AcousticOptical/laser Temperature Electrical Optical fiber. A rotation sensorcan be Gyro MEMS Gyro Tilt Electro-mechanical MEMS. A strain sensor canbe a resistance gauge Vibrating wire Optical fiber Corrosion ElectricalChemical sensors. A stress sensor can be a via strain gauge DirectAcoustic emission, or Piezoelectric MEMS, for example.

The sensor 112-114, transceiver 160/antenna 170, and microcontroller 155are powered by and suitable power source, which may optionally includean electromagnetic field (EMF) scavenging device 145, such as thoseknown in the art, that convert ambient EMF (such as that emitted byradio station broadcasts) into small amounts of electrical power. TheEMF scavenging device 145 includes a battery to buffer and store energyfor the microcontroller 155, sensor 112-114, camera 140 and wirelesscommunications 160/170, among others.

The circuit of FIG. 2A contains an analog front-end (“AFE”) transducer150 for interfacing signals from the sensor 112-114 to themicrocontroller 155. The AFE 150 electrically conditions the signalscoming from the sensor 112-114 prior to their conversion by themicrocontroller 155 so that the signals are electrically compatible withthe specified input ranges of the microcontroller 155. Themicrocontroller 155 can have a CPU, memory and peripheral circuitry. Themicrocontroller 155 is electrically coupled to a wireless communicationmodule 160 using either a standard or proprietary communicationstandard. Alternatively, the microcontroller 155 can include internallyany or all circuitry of the smart bolt 100, including the wirelesscommunication module 160. The microcontroller 155 preferably includespower savings or power management circuitry 145 and modes to reducepower consumption significantly when the microcontroller 155 is notactive or is less active. The microcontroller 155 may contain at leastone Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) channel for interfacing to the AFE150.

The battery/power management module 145 preferably includes theelectromagnetic field (EMF) scavenging device, but can alternatively runoff of previously stored electrical power from the battery alone. Thebattery/power management module 145 powers all the circuitry in thesmart bolt 100, including the camera 140, AFE 150, microcontroller 155,wireless communication module 160, and antenna 170. Even though thesmart bolt 100 is preferably powered by continuously harvesting RFenergy, it is beneficial to minimize power consumption. To minimizepower consumption, the various tasks performed by the circuit should berepeated no more often than necessary under the circumstances.

Stress information from the smart bolt 100 and other information fromthe microcontroller 155 is preferably transmitted wirelessly through awireless communication module 160 and antenna 170. As stated above, thewireless communication component can use standard or proprietarycommunication protocols. Smart lids 100 can also communicate with eachother to relay information about the current status of the structure ormachine and the smart bolt 100 themselves. In each smart bolt 100, thetransmission of this information may be scheduled to be transmittedperiodically. The smart lid 100 has a data storage medium (memory) tostore data and internal status information, such as power levels, whilethe communication component is in an OFF state between transmissionperiods. On the other hand, once the communication commences in the ONstate, the microcontroller 155 can execute the following tasks:

1. Neighbor discovery: in this task each smart bolt 100 sends a beaconidentifying its location, capabilities (e.g. residual energy), status.2. Cluster formation: cluster head will be elected based on the findingsin (1). The cluster children communicate directly with their clusterhead (CH). 3. Route discovery: this task interconnects the electedcluster heads together and finds the route towards the sink smart bolt(node) so that minimum energy is consumed. 4. Data transmission: themicrocontroller processes the collected color data and based on theadopted data dissemination approach, the smart bolt 100 will do one ofthe following. (a) Transmit the data as is without considering theprevious status; or (b) transmit the data considering the previousstatus. Here we can have several scenarios, which include: (i)transmitting the data if the change in reported tension exceeds thewarning or emergency levels; and (ii) otherwise, do not transmit.

The bolt electronic of FIG. 2A operates with a big data discovery systemof FIG. 2B that determines events that may lead to failure. FIG. 2B is ablock diagram of an example stress monitoring system 200 that may beprocess the stress detected by the smart bolt 100 of FIG. 1, arranged inaccordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Along withthe stress monitoring system 220, a first smart device such as a smartbolt 240, a second smart device 250, a third smart device 260, a fourthsmart device 280, and additional sensors 270 may also be associated withthe unit 200. The stress monitoring system 220 may include, but is notlimited to, a transceiver module 222, a stress detection module 224, astress prediction module 226, a determination module 228, a stressresponse module 232, an interface module 234, a processor 236, and amemory 238.

The transceiver module 222 may be configured to receive a stress reportfrom each of the first, second, and third smart devices 240, 250, 260.In some embodiments, the transceiver module 222 may be configured toreceive the stress reports over a wireless network. For example, thetransceiver module 222 and the first, second, and third smart devices240, 250, 260 may be connected over a wireless network using the IEEE802.11 or IEEE 802.15 standards, for example, among potentially otherstandards. Alternately or additionally, the transceiver module 222 andthe first, second, and third smart devices 240, 250, 260 may communicateby sending communications over conductors used to carry electricity tothe first, second, and third smart devices 240, 250, 260 and to otherelectrical devices in the unit 200. The transceiver module 222 may sendthe stress reports from the first, second, and third smart devices 240,250, 260 to the prediction module 226, the stress detection module 224,and/or the determination module 228.

The stress module 224 may be configured to detect stress as detected bythe bolts 100. The signal sent by the bolts 100 collectively mayindicate the amount of stress being generated and/or a prediction of theamount of stress that will be generated. The stress detection module 224may further be configured to detect a change in stress of non-smartdevices associated with the unit 200.

The prediction module 226 may be configured to predict future stressbased on past stress history as detected, environmental conditions,forecasted stress loads, among other factors. In some embodiments, theprediction module 226 may predict future stress by building models ofusage and weight being transported. For example, the prediction module226 may build models using machine learning based on support vectormachines, artificial neural networks, or using other types of machinelearning. For example, stress may correlate with the load carried by abridge or an airplane structure. In other example, stress may correlatewith temperature cycling when a structure is exposed to constant changes(such as that of an airplane).

The prediction module 226 may gather data for building the model topredict stress from multiple sources. Some of these sources may include,the first, second, and third smart devices 240, 250, 260; the stressdetection module 224; networks, such as the World Wide Web; theinterface module 234; among other sources. For example, the first,second, and third smart devices 240, 250, 260 may send informationregarding human interactions with the first, second, and third smartdevices 240, 250, 260. The human interactions with the first, second,and third smart devices 240, 250, 260 may indicate a pattern of usagefor the first, second, and third smart devices 240, 250, 260 and/orother human behavior with respect to stress in the unit 200.

In some embodiments, the first, second, and third smart devices 240,250, 260 may perform predictions for their own stress based on historyand send their predicted stress in reports to the transceiver module222. The prediction module 226 may use the stress reports along with thedata of human interactions to predict stress for the system 200.Alternately or additionally, the prediction module 226 may makepredictions of stress for the first, second, and third smart devices240, 250, 260 based on data of human interactions and passed to thetransceiver module 222 from the first, second, and third smart devices240, 250, 260. A discussion of predicting stress for the first, second,and third smart devices 240, 250, 260 is provided below with respect toFIGS. 5 and 6.

The prediction module 224 may predict the stress for different amountsof time. For example, the prediction module 224 may predict stress ofthe system 200 for 1 hour, 2 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or some otherperiod. The prediction module 224 may also update a prediction at a setinterval or when new data is available that changes the prediction. Theprediction module 224 may send the predicted stress of the system 200 tothe determination module 228. In some embodiments, the predicted stressof the system 200 may contain the entire stress of the system 200 andmay incorporate or be based on stress reports from the first, second,and third smart devices 240, 250, 260. In other embodiments, thepredicted stress of the system 200 may not incorporate or be based onthe stress reports from the first, second, and third smart devices 240,250, 260.

The determination module 228 may be configured to generate a unit stressreport for the system 200. The determination module 228 may use thecurrent stress of the system 200, the predicted stress of the system 200received from the prediction module 224; stress reports from the first,second, and/or third smart devices 240, 250, 260, whether incorporatedin the predicted stress of the system 200 or separate from the predictedstress of the system 200; and an amount of stress generated or thepredicted amount of stress, to generate a unit stress report.

In some embodiments, one or more of the stress reports from the first,second, and/or third smart device 240, 250, 260 may contain anindication of the current operational profile and not stress. In theseand other embodiments, the determination module 228 may be configured todetermine the stress of a smart device for which the stress reportindicates the current operational profile but not the stress. Thedetermination module 228 may include the determined amount of stress forthe smart device in the unit stress report. For example, both the firstand second smart device 240, 250 may send stress report. The stressreport from the first smart device 240 may indicate stress of the firstsmart device 240. The stress report from the second smart device 250 mayindicate the current operational profile but not the stress of thesecond smart device 250. Based on the current operational profile of thesecond smart device 250, the determination module 228 may calculate thestress of the second smart device 250. The determination module 228 maythen generate a unit stress report that contains the stress of both thefirst and second smart devices 240, 250.

In some embodiments, the stress monitoring system 220 may not includethe prediction module 226. In these and other embodiments, thedetermination module 228 may use stress reports from the first, second,and/or third smart devices 240, 250, 260, with the received amount ofstress inferred on non-smart devices, if any, to generate the unitstress report. The determination module 228 may send the unit stressreport to the transceiver module 222.

In some embodiments, the processor 236 may be configured to executecomputer instructions that cause the stress monitoring system 220 toperform the functions and operations described herein. The computerinstructions may be loaded into the memory 238 for execution by theprocessor 236 and/or data generated, received, or operated on duringperformance of the functions and operations described herein may be atleast temporarily stored in the memory 238.

Although the stress monitoring system 220 illustrates various discretecomponents, such as the prediction module 226 and the determinationmodule 228, various components may be divided into additionalcomponents, combined into fewer components, or eliminated, depending onthe desired implementation. In some embodiments, the unit 200 may beassociated with more or less smart devices than the three smart devices240, 250, 260 illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example method 300 of monitoring stress ofa unit, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments describedherein. The method 300 may be implemented, in some embodiments, by anstress monitoring system, such as the stress monitoring system 220 ofFIG. 2. For instance, the processor 236 of FIG. 2B may be configured toexecute computer instructions to perform operations for monitoringstress as represented by one or more of blocks 302, 304, 306, 310, 312,and/or 314 of the method 300. Although illustrated as discrete blocks,various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, combined intofewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation.

The method 300 may begin at one or more of blocks 302, 304, and/or 306.The blocks 302, 304, and/or 306 may occur at the same time or atdifferent times and may or may not depend on one another. Furthermore,one or more of the block 302, 304, 306 may occur during the method 300.For example, the method 300 may complete when blocks 304, 310, and 312occurs and without the occurrence of block 302 and 306.

In block 302, a change in stress of a device (bolt or beam) associatedwith a unit may be detected. A non-smart device may by any device thatreceives stress and does not generate an stress report indicating itsstress. A change in the stress of a non-smart device may be detectedusing an stress detection module and/or usage meter associated with theunit, such as the stress detection module 224 and/or the smart bolt 100.For example, non-smart device stress can be estimated by the load theunit carries, the temperature cycling experienced by the unit, forexample.

After a change in stress of the non-smart device is detected, the method300 proceeds to block 310. In block 304, an stress report from a smartdevice such as the smart bolt 100 associated with the unit may bereceived. A smart device may be a device that detects stress andgenerates and transmits an stress report indicating the stress on thesmart device. The stress report may indicate predicted future stress ofthe smart device. In some embodiments, an stress report may be receivedat set intervals from the smart device regardless of a change in thestress report. Alternately or additionally, a stress report may bereceived after a change in the stress of the smart device results in achange to the stress report. After a stress report is received from thesmart device, the method 300 proceeds to block 310.

In block 306, stress experienced at the unit may be detected. Stress atthe unit may be detected using a stress detection module, such as thestress detection module 224 of FIG. 2B. After detecting stress at theunit, the method proceeds to block 310. At block 310, it is determinedif a change in the stress occurred. For example, if an increase instress occurs at the same time and at the same amount as an increase inthe stress of a non-smart device, a change in the stress may not occur.If a change in the stress occurs, the method 300 proceeds to block 312.If no change occurs, the method 300 ends.

At block 312, a unit stress report is generated for the unit. In someembodiments, the unit stress report may indicate the current stress ofthe unit. Alternately or additionally, the unit stress report mayindicate a current and predicted future stress of the unit. At block314, the unit stress report is transmitted to a maintenance provider. Insome embodiments, the unit stress report may be transmitted when theunit stress report indicates a change in stress for the unit that isgreater than a predetermined threshold. If the unit stress reportindicates a change in stress for the unit that is less than thepredetermined threshold, the unit stress report may not be transmittedto the provider of maintenance services.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary mesh network. In this embodiment, ZigBee isused. However, the mesh network can be formed using WiFi, Bluetooth, orany other suitable wireless area networks. ZigBee is a low-cost,low-power, wireless mesh network standard targeted at the widedevelopment of long battery life devices in wireless control andmonitoring applications. Zigbee devices have low latency, which furtherreduces average current. ZigBee chips are typically integrated withradios and with microcontrollers that have between 60-256 KB flashesmemory. ZigBee operates in the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM)radio bands: 2.4 GHz in most jurisdictions worldwide; 784 MHz in China,868 MHz in Europe and 915 MHz in the USA and Australia. Data rates varyfrom 20 kbit/s (868 MHz band) to 250 kbit/s (2.4 GHz band). The ZigBeenetwork layer natively supports both star and tree networks, and genericmesh networking. Every network must have one coordinator device, taskedwith its creation, the control of its parameters and basic maintenance.Within star networks, the coordinator must be the central node. Bothtrees and meshes allow the use of ZigBee routers to extend communicationat the network level. ZigBee builds on the physical layer and mediaaccess control defined in IEEE standard 802.15.4 for low-rate WPANs. Thespecification includes four additional key components: network layer,application layer, ZigBee device objects (ZDOs) and manufacturer-definedapplication objects which allow for customization and favor totalintegration. ZDOs are responsible for some tasks, including keepingtrack of device roles, managing requests to join a network, as well asdevice discovery and security. ZigBee is one of the global standards ofcommunication protocol formulated by the significant task force underthe IEEE 802.15 working group. The fourth in the series, WPAN LowRate/ZigBee is the newest and provides specifications for devices thathave low data rates, consume very low power and are thus characterizedby long battery life. Other standards like Bluetooth and IrDA addresshigh data rate applications such as voice, video and LAN communications.

ZigBee devices are of three kinds: ZigBee Coordinator (ZC): The mostcapable device, the Coordinator forms the root of the network tree andmight bridge to other networks. There is precisely one ZigBeeCoordinator in each network since it is the device that started thenetwork originally (the ZigBee LightLink specification also allowsoperation without a ZigBee Coordinator, making it more usable forover-the-shelf home products). It stores information about the network,including acting as the Trust Center & repository for security keys.ZigBee Router (ZR): As well as running an application function, a Routercan act as an intermediate router, passing on data from other devices.ZigBee End Device (ZED): Contains just enough functionality to talk tothe parent node (either the Coordinator or a Router); it cannot relaydata from other devices. This relationship allows the node to be asleepa significant amount of the time thereby giving long battery life. A ZEDrequires the least amount of memory, and, therefore, can be lessexpensive to manufacture than a ZR or ZC. The current ZigBee protocolssupport beacon and non-beacon enabled networks. In non-beacon-enablednetworks, an unspotted CSMA/CA channel access mechanism is used. In thistype of network, ZigBee Routers typically have their receiverscontinuously active, requiring a more robust power supply. However, thisallows for heterogeneous networks in which some devices receivecontinuously while others only transmit when an external stimulus isdetected. The typical example of a heterogeneous network is a wirelesslight switch: The ZigBee node at the lamp may constantly receive, sinceit is connected to the mains supply, while a battery-powered lightswitch would remain asleep until the switch is thrown. The switch thenwakes up, sends a command to the lamp, receives an acknowledgment, andreturns to sleep. In such a network the lamp node will be at least aZigBee Router, if not the ZigBee Coordinator; the switch node istypically a ZigBee End Device. In beacon-enabled networks, the specialnetwork nodes called ZigBee Routers transmit periodic beacons to confirmtheir presence to other network nodes. Nodes may sleep between beacons,thus lowering their duty cycle and extending their battery life. Beaconintervals depend on data rate; they may range from 15.36 milliseconds to251.65824 seconds at 250 kbit/s, from 24 milliseconds to 393.216 secondsat 40 kbit/s and from 48 milliseconds to 786.432 seconds at 20 kbit/s.However, low duty cycle operation with long beacon intervals requiresprecise timing, which can conflict with the need for low product cost.In general, the ZigBee protocols minimize the time the radio is on, soas to reduce power use. In beaconing networks, nodes only need to beactive while a beacon is being transmitted. In non-beacon-enablednetworks, power consumption is decidedly asymmetrical: Some devices arealways active while others spend most of their time sleeping. Except forthe Smart Energy Profile 2.0, ZigBee devices are required to conform tothe IEEE 802.15.4-2003 Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network (LR-WPAN)standard. The standard specifies the lower protocol layers—the physicallayer (PHY), and the Media Access Control portion of the data link layer(DLL). The basic channel access mode is “carrier sense, multipleaccess/collision avoidance” (CSMA/CA). That is, the nodes talk in thesame way that humans converse; they briefly check to see that no one istalking before he or she start, with three notable exceptions. Beaconsare sent on a fixed timing schedule and do not use CSMA. Messageacknowledgments also do not use CSMA. Finally, devices in beacon-enablednetworks that have low latency real-time requirements may also useGuaranteed Time Slots (GTS), which by definition do not use CSMA.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method of an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Referring to FIG. 6, a smart system may collect from smartdevices state change events of a smart system in operation 601. That is,the smart system of FIG. 4 collects information on each of the group ofdevices, the smart bolts, the smart appliances, the security devices,the lighting devices, the energy devices, and the like. The state changeevents indicate when there is a change in the state of the device or thesurrounding environment. The state change events are stored by the smartsystem. In operation 603, the system may determine whether a series ofthe collected state change events are a known pattern. That is, thegateway determines whether there are events which have been correlatedor identified in the past. If the collected state change events havebeen identified in the past, it may be necessary to determine that thesmart systems trusts the identification the collected state changeevents. The trust factor of the identification of the collected statechange events may be determined by the number of users who haveidentified the collected state change events or the number of timecollected state change events have been repeated and identified. Inoperation 605, when the series of the collected state change events isan unknown pattern, request users of the smart system to identify whatcaused the collected state change events request. That is, the systemtransmits to a gamification application (hereinafter app) on the user'smobile device a request to identify the collected state change events.The gamification app displays the information and request the user enterinformation identifying the collected state change events. Each of themobile devices transmits this information back to the system to thegamification module. In operation 605, the system transmits the eachuser's identified collected state change events to the other user's ofthe smart home system and they each vote on the best identification ofthe collected state change events. Thus, the identified collected changestate events that have been repeatedly identified over a period of weeksincreases, the trustworthiness of the identification increases.Likewise, if every user of the smart system makes the sameidentification of the collected change state events, the identifiedcollected change state events may be considered trustworthy at point.Such a determination of a threshold for when the identified collectedchange state events are considered trustworthy and therefore need not berepeated, is made by a system administrator. However, it will beunderstood that such a trustworthiness of this type only gives higherconfidence of this particular dataset at that point in time. As suchfurther repetition is required, since the sensor data may have noise,the more datasets to be identified to the pattern, the more robust thetrustworthiness will be. Until the robustness reaches a threshold, thenthe system can confirm this is a known trustworthy pattern.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that, for this and otherprocesses and methods disclosed herein, the functions performed in theprocesses and methods may be implemented in differing order.Furthermore, the outlined steps and operations are only provided asexamples, and some of the steps and operations may be optional, combinedinto fewer steps and operations, or expanded into additional steps andoperations without detracting from the essence of the disclosedembodiments.

The embodiments described herein may include the use of a specialpurpose or general-purpose computer including various computer hardwareor software modules, as discussed in greater detail below.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented using computer-readablemedia for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or datastructures stored thereon. Such computer-readable media may be anyavailable media that may be accessed by a general purpose or specialpurpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media may include tangible computer-readable storagemedia including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any otherstorage medium which may be used to carry or store desired program codein the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures andwhich may be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.Combinations of the above may also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions anddata which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer,or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function orgroup of functions. Although the subject matter has been described inlanguage specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, itis to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appendedclaims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actsdescribed above. Rather, the specific features and acts described aboveare disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

As used herein, the term “module” or “component” may refer to softwareobjects or routines that execute on the computing system. The differentcomponents, modules, engines, and services described herein may beimplemented as objects or processes that execute on the computing system(e.g., as separate threads). While the system and methods describedherein may be preferably implemented in software, implementations inhardware or a combination of software and hardware are also possible andcontemplated. In this description, a “computing entity” may be anycomputing system as previously defined herein, or any module orcombination of modulates running on a computing system.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the invention andthe concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and areto be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recitedexamples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present inventionshave been described in detail, it should be understood that the variouschanges, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, comprising: a head portion; anelongated body; a sensor coupled to the head portion, the sensor coupledto a surface of the elongated body; a vibrator in the elongated bodythat vibrates at one or more patterns each with a selected frequency andamplitude; a processor coupled to the sensor and the vibrator; and awireless transceiver coupled to the processor.
 2. The device of claim 1,wherein the elongated body encloses the sensor.
 3. The device of claim1, comprising a camera coupled to a graphical processing unit (GPU) andwirelessly coupled to the processor.
 4. The device of claim 1,comprising code to provide sensor data to communicate sensor data withone or more remote persons.
 5. The device of claim 1, comprising acamera coupled to the processor.
 6. The device of claim 1, comprising anelectronic nose or electronic tongue coupled to the processor.
 7. Thedevice of claim 1, comprising a cloud based image processing systemrunning code to receive images from a camera and code to recognize animage.
 8. The device of claim 1, comprising a wireless mesh networkcoupled to the wireless transceiver to transfer data from node to node.9. The device of claim 1, comprising a tongue coupled to the head. 10.The device of claim 1, comprising an energy scavenging unit, apiezoelectric transducer, a solar cell, or a wireless energy captureunit to supply power to the processor.
 11. The device of claim 1,comprising code to analyze and predict stress or vibration impact. 12.The device of claim 1, comprising code to perform gaming based onvibration.
 13. A system, comprising: a mesh network; and one or moredevices, each device having a head portion, a sensor in an elongatedbody of the device, a vibrator in the elongated body that vibrates atone or more patterns each with a selected frequency and amplitude, aprocessor in the elongated body coupled to the sensor and the vibrator,and a wireless transceiver in the elongated body coupled to the meshnetwork.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the sensor is coupled to asurface to detect stress or vibration associated with the surface. 15.The system of claim 13, comprising a camera in the elongated body andcoupled to the processor.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the camerais coupled to a graphical processing unit (GPU).
 17. The system of claim15, comprising a cloud based image processing system running code toreceive images from the camera and code to recognize an image.
 18. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the sensor detects motion.